Yesterday, in an attempt to shed some light on what I consider to be an abnormal veneration of the Humble One by Bob Kauflin, among others, I tweeted the following:

Here is the actual video in question:

Bob Kauflin responded with a few tweets of his own.

Kauflin’s tweets set off a torrent of responses, I will include only a few here.  Feel free to go to Twitter and read further responses.

What is readily apparent to me is that Mahaneyites have been immersed in this culture of flattery for so long, encouraged by the Humble One himself, that they cannot recognize what those outside of their church culture see as an obvious “over-the-top” adulation for their leader.  The individual who posted the “Bob Kauflin Worships CJ Mahaney” video stated in his description that “this pathetic song speaks for itself.” That sums up the feelings of many non-Sovereign Grace members.  If I were Bob Kauflin, I  would be embarrassed to have this video made public.  Kauflin doesn’t seem to be embarrassed at all, responding that he simply views his song as a way to thank someone for years of service.

Another observation – how many truly humble Christian pastors would even have allowed this evening of idolatry to take place, much less reveled in the adoration? When I think back over my life, I was privleged to know a few pastors I consider authentically humble; I know they would never have allowed this ceremony to take place.  They were obviously uncomfortable if a man spoke one sentence praising them.

Here are a few more examples of Mahaneyites praising the Humble One.  First is an audio of pastor Kevin Maresco and then a video that again, can best be summed up as pathetic.

Upon further reflection, maybe I am being too harsh on Kauflin, Mahaney and the Sovereign Grace church members who have “entrusted their souls to them.”  After all, here are a few other religious organizations, whom I esteem equally with  Sovereign Grace Churches, that also sing worship songs to their leaders!

The article on Furtick may be viewed at the Charlotte Observer’s website.